Welcome. Remember that you can tweet any questions to me at twitter.com/mlbdepthcharts if I don't get to your question(s) here.

Tim

4:34

Who will be the Nationals closer down the stretch?

Jason Martinez

4:36

Doolittle should be back in September. Madson for now. Not sure if Herrera makes it back yet. Will be interesting to see Glover get a chance again. Holland is also there (3 K in 1st appearances).

Pirate misery

4:36

In light of trading Meadows...do you foresee Pirates management dishing out the money to sign Dickerson this offseason to an extension?

Jason Martinez

4:37

Not a long-term deal. Maybe 2 years if they can stay under $8MM/season. Depends on the market, but I don't see if being all that great for corner OFs/1B/DH.

Josh Donaldson

4:37

Will i be moved waiver trading deadline by Aug 31's? i be top name move like Verlander last year. Yankees need a bat. i can play first/3rd and dh

Jason Martinez

4:39

I think it will happen. Not sure if he'll drop to the Yankees. Too many AL teams in the Wild Card race that could use him.

Smith

4:40

Should the Cardinals look into a potential trade for Carpenter this waiver period and in the offseason?

Jason Martinez

4:41

"Look into"? Sure. But they're only 4 games out in the Wild Card race and it would be tough to move him now, anyways. I think they'll be open to moving him this offseason. Barring a playoff run, I can see a roster shakeup and moving Carpenter could be a big part of that.

Guy

4:41

MadBum to A’s for Barreto, Puk, and Mateo

Jason Martinez

4:44

I don't see the Giants trading MadBum this offseason because I don't see a scenario where they're not all in for 2019. And trading MadBum makes them worse next season, even if they add some young talent in return. If things aren't going well next July, he'll still command a strong package of prospects.

Padres

4:45

The Padres waived Ross and Lyles to open up space for our 40 men roster and brought up Wingenter and Kennedy. What other moves do you expect them to make?

Jason Martinez

4:47

Jacob Nix is starting on Friday and I think they'll add another big arm in the bullpen (maybe Gerardo Reyes—he can throw 100 MPH). I'd like to see Matt Strahm get some starts. He's starting to re-establish himself as a valuable reliever, but would have more value as a starter.

I wouldn't call either a frontline starter, but both could be useful. Especially Gonzalez. Nats would have to fall further back in the WC race, though, and I still don't see that happening. Harvey is interesting, but also hasn't been very good lately.

Zulander

4:54

Who plays SS for Tigers in 2020? Paredes, Castro, Alcantara or someone who else?

Jason Martinez

4:55

My $ would be on Paredes. Already in AA at age 19. His stock has skyrocketed over the last year.

Norman Golan

4:57

The Cards already promoted Nolan Gorman to low-A even though he's basically still a child. How excited should I, fan of the cardinals, be?

Jason Martinez

4:58

It's a great sign that their 1st Rd pick was too good for the Appalachian League. But I usually advise against getting too excited about any prospect until they have success in AA. Long way to go.

John

5:00

Cedric Mullins a September call up?

Jason Martinez

5:02

I think so. He'll need to be added to the 40-man this offseason and he's probably the only intriguing prospect that has a chance for a long look in September.

Hank

5:02

When will Eloy get the call? He has nothing left to prove

Jason Martinez

5:04

He'll be up in early September as long as he's healthy. He's already on the 40-man roster. Only question is whether the White Sox call him up in August to get an earlier look at him.

A baseball fan

5:07

Jason why do you see Arizona going to the ws over teams like the Dodgers or Brewers

Jason Martinez

5:08

Rotation is really good (Corbin, Greinke, Ray, Godley). They can hit (Goldschmidt, Pollock, Peralta, Escobar; Souza is heating up). And the bullpen is good enough and much deeper with additions of Ziegler/Diekman.

GM

5:09

Do you think all these 100 MPH guys are helping the hitters against Chapman, Kimbrel et. al.

Jason Martinez

5:11

You mean that the hitters are used to seeing 100MPH so they're seeing it better? I'm sure it does, at least slightly. Still not easy to hit a 97MPH fastball. But much more difficult when you're used to seeing low 90's all the time and then you see high 90's in the 8th and 9th innings.

Jack

5:11

Do you think the Athletics or Mariners will make it into the Post Season

Jason Martinez

5:13

I hope so but I don't think they will. They sure are making it interesting. But HOU, CLE, BOS, NYY are sooooo good.

GM

5:14

Are the NYY willing to cut Ellsbury this winter for the spot on the 40 man.

Jason Martinez

5:17

Doubtful. I can see a team taking on some of the salary if the Yankees throw in a prospect (similar to what the Padres did with Chase Headley). But that's a lot of $ left on that deal.

Micah's Toupee

5:18

Think the Red Sox's beat the '01 Mariners' record of 116 wins?

Jason Martinez

5:20

They'd have to go 37-11 to get to 117 wins. I'm gonna say no. I think they have 2 series with NYY in September and also playing CLE and HOU.

Trixie

5:21

Should the Padres sign shortstop Galvis to an extension?

Jason Martinez

5:22

Maybe a 1 yr extension for less than $4MM just to give them coverage until Tatis is ready.